


Sparks (2011)

by JennyB



Series: Advent 2011 [22]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist
Genre: Advent Challenge 2011, Awkwardness, Declarations Of Love, F/M, First Kiss, Podfic Available, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-22
Updated: 2011-12-22
Packaged: 2018-01-05 21:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1098647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JennyB/pseuds/JennyB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Christmas Eve, and Riza makes a special request of Roy, and is warmed by more than just the fire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sparks (2011)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Advent Challenge 2011. Prompt: Christmas Eve
> 
> Podfic (by the lovely Kansouame ♥♥) here: [Take a Listen!](http://www.mediafire.com/?cinhf4q9rmrinl8)

It was a beautiful Christmas Eve in Central. There was a light snow falling, and the outside temperature was chilly but pleasant. Roy Mustang smiled as he answered his door, the expression widening when he saw Riza Hawkeye with her dog, Black Hayate, standing on the porch. As he took her coat, he said, "I'm glad you decided to come after all."

Riza gave him a soft look. "I debated it for a long time. But you did make a compelling argument. It's better than being alone." She snorted in amusement and carried the bag of groceries she had into the kitchen. "Does that make us losers because we can't find anyone, or just pathetic?" she teased.

Roy laughed. "Maybe neither of those things," he said after a minute, and he held her gaze for a moment. "I'm rather satisfied with my holiday arrangements, Lieutenant. Maybe we're lucky?"

Riza felt her cheeks heat, as they often did whenever Mustang gave her one of _those_ looks, and she quickly looked away. She'd known him since he was a young officer, knew him better than anyone else in the military, but she still wasn't sure whether his playful flirting was just that, or if he was serious. And she valued their friendship too much to risk jeopardizing it to find out for certain. "I have no complaints either, Colonel," she replied as she filled the dog's bowl with water from the tap. It wasn't unusual for them to fall into the exaggerated formality whenever the conversation turned serious. Or rather, hinted at something deeper to their relationship than simple professionalism. It was a textbook defence mechanism. "Thank you, by the way, for letting me bring Hayate. Fuery couldn't have watched him as he was going home for the holidays."

Roy waved her off. "It's no big deal," he said, and he plastered a wide grin on his face. "He's part of your family, and you know me. I love dogs." He watched as the little shiba inu sniffed curiously around the living room before turning around several times on the rug and lying down. "Um..." He felt suddenly awkward. Granted, he'd been over to Riza's place countless times in the past for dinner or tea, but this was the first time he'd ever asked her to come here. Usually when he brought a woman home, he had one goal in mind, and it typically didn't involve a lot of conversation. He paled slightly, hoping she wouldn't think that was why he'd invited her over. She had to know the rumours that circulated about him, and he found himself wishing he'd told her that most of them were grossly exaggerated.

"You have a nice place, Colonel," she said after a moment. "It's...not what I'd been expecting."

He arched a brow at that. "What were you expecting? I do clean it, you know!"

Riza smiled. "That's not what I meant. It's just, the decorating is nice. I'd thought it would be a typical bachelor pad like Havoc and Breda have."

Roy laughed. "Hey, I've got a pretty good sense of style! Though, to be fair, I think my aunt rubbed off on me more than I know. She used to make me help her decorate, so I guess some of what she told me stuck."

"I like it," Riza said, and she nodded. "And I love the fireplace. That's one thing abut living in a flat that I miss. My father used to make fires in the winter, and somehow, they always made the room feel so much cosier."

"Do you want a fire?" he asked. "It wouldn't take long for me to make one." He slipped on one of his gloves and raised his fingers to snap.

"Wait!" she said as she grabbed his hand, holding it between her own. She realized what she'd done, and her cheeks flushed slightly as she felt the warmth of his skin through the cloth. She dropped her hands to her sides, and turned her gaze away from his eyes to the hearth. "I'm sorry. I was just wondering if maybe we could have one we made by hand rather than through alchemy." She shook her head, and smiled. "But forgive me for asking; I shouldn't impose."

Roy's mouth hung open for a moment, but he quickly composed himself and gave her a smile. "It's not an imposition," he said as he removed the glove and stashed it back in his pocket. "It'll be a piece of cake," he added cockily as he gave a quick glance toward the fireplace. "Why don't you find us something to drink, and I'll get this going? There's wine in the fridge, or tea. Coffee..." She gave him a gorgeous smile, and he melted a little inside. 

"Thank you. I'll figure something out."

"Great!" he said with more enthusiasm than he felt, and when she'd gone into the kitchen, he knelt down in front of the fireplace. "Shit," he muttered under his breath as he began piling pieces of wood on the grate. He added some kindling, and then reached for the matches. "Please, let this work," he begged as he lit one and held it to the pile, only to scowl when it promptly went out. "Damn it," he murmured, and he put more kindling onto the pile. He hadn't built a proper fire since his academy days, and even then, he'd only managed to light one because Maes Hughes had taken pity on the shivering cadet and helped him out. But he had to make it happen now, simply because Riza had asked him to. "Okay, this time," he said, but again, he had no success with the match. Cursing, he pulled everything out of the fireplace so that he could begin again.

"Do you like hot toddies?" Riza called to him as she sought out the different things she needed.

"What? Oh, uh, it's got alcohol in it, right? Yeah, I like them." His mouth was set in a grim line as he glared at the wood. He was definitely going to want a drink after this.

"Good," she called back. "It's going to be a few minutes though."

He scrubbed a hand through his messy bangs in frustration. "Take your time," he said. "I'm...making progress here." She laughed in response, and the sound both warmed him and renewed his resolve. He swiped the back of his hand across his brow and then closed his eyes, trying to recall what it was that Hughes had done back then. He laid the largest pieces of wood on the grates, and then shifted the smaller kindling to pile around it. It looked the way he remembered it, and he felt a smug sense of satisfaction when one of the sticks caught on fire. "No problem," he said, though his expression turned murderous when after a few seconds, the stick went out and just smouldered mockingly at him. Narrowing his eyes, he grabbed his gloves and put them on, though he paused when Hayate barked at him. He glanced toward the kitchen and saw that Riza was happily puttering around and then down at the dog, who was standing next to him and happily wagging his tail. "Yeah, I know it's cheating," he said, and when Hayate stilled and just stared at him, he sighed. "I just wanted to give this to her, but you're right, it's not what she asked for." He snorted in wry amusement. "I can't believe I'm being scolded by a dog." He removed the gloves and sat back on his heels, just staring miserably at the fireplace. "God, I suck," he murmured as he patted through the soft fur. "She asks me for one thing, and I can't even do it." Hayate barked again and looked over Roy's shoulder, and he cringed inside when he felt Riza's presence behind him. "Uh...hi."

She arched a brow as she set two mugs down on the coffee table. "The fact that the Flame Alchemist is clueless when it comes to fires, I don't even know where to begin with that one," she teased, though she sobered when she saw the embarrassment on Roy's face. "Oh. You're serious."

"I could do anything they asked of me, survive anything, but I only passed the practical because Hughes built a fire for me," he said. "I understand the theory behind it, but..."

"You need paper, for a start," Riza said, and she grabbed a section of an old newspaper and began to ball it up. "You're so used to just sparking everything, you've forgotten the basic principles of it. Put the paper and your kindling low, and the heat will rise to catch the logs." She pressed the wads of newspaper underneath the grate, and moved a few pieces of kindling lower. "There, try it now by lighting there and there," she said as she pointed.

Roy nodded, and after striking the match he did as he'd been instructed. He smiled when, after a couple of minutes, he had a proper roaring fire in the fireplace. "Your fire, Madam," he said as he gave her an over exaggerated bow. 

"Well done," she said. "I'll score you a seventy-eight, but only because you needed a bit of guidance." 

Roy chuckled. "Please don't tell anyone I'm this pathetic," he said as he gave her a wink and moved to sit with his back against the coffee table.

Riza smiled as she joined him. "You have my word, Sir." Her expression softened, and she glanced sidelong at him to meet his eyes. "Thank you for this. It...brings back a lot of good memories for me. I'd forgotten what those were like, Colonel."

"Roy."

"I-I beg your pardon, Sir?"

"My name is Roy. I'd...like it if you called me that from time to time." A brief flicker of uncertainty flashed across his eyes, but he didn't look away. "I mean, if you would want to."

"I--" A tingling warmth spread through her body, one that had nothing to do with the fire in the fireplace. She felt her cheeks heat, and was once again caught by his gaze. "Y-you have a smudge of ash on your cheek, C--Roy."

"Do I?" He watched her blush darken further, and encouraged by her response, he lowered his lashes and moved a little closer. He watched her silently for several moments, and then cupped her cheek in a hand as he brought their lips together. The kiss was soft at first, then Roy pressed a little deeper, letting his tongue gently tease for a moment before he pulled away. "Hm, so do you," he said softly as he let his thumb brush just under one of her eyes before he dropped his hand away.

"I see," she said quietly as she reached for her drink. Her tongue quickly skated across her lower lip, and her heart beat just a little faster when she found she could still taste his kiss. "Um..." She offered him a small, anxious smile. "Y-you also have a little bit on your lip. R-right here..." She pointed to her own, and then hesitantly reached out and touched his in the same spot, her heart now racing when he kissed the tip of the digit and took her hand in his.

"Terribly sorry," Roy murmured as he kissed the back of her hand, and then he gave her a seductive smirk. "Maybe you can keep me on the straight and narrow?" With his other hand, he deftly took the glass from her hand and set it on the table behind him.

She gave him a very soft look. "I think that can be arranged," she replied.

"Oh, good." He pulled her into his lap, bringing his knees up to rest against her back while his arms wrapped around her, one hand at her waist, the other cupping the back of her head. He felt her fingers hesitantly move along his shoulders, and he smiled at the almost tentative way they toyed with the hair at his nape. He pulled her closer, and just before he brought their mouths together in a hungry embrace, he whispered, "That was the answer I was hoping for."


End file.
